FriendlyBlxckHottie '21–'22 app cycle Class of 2025 class year

Hi! I was a lurker during the law school cycle, and wanted to wait before posting until I received all my decisions. I am sharing on here for data collection, and hopefully those who stumble upon this can find this helpful.

I did not think I would get into any of the schools I applied to. I shot my shot, and I am SO GLAD I did. Don’t listen to the naysayers–if you have the money, please apply to any schools you see yourself attending!!

A little bit about me:
URM, First-gen everything
I did NOT attend a prestigious, well-known, and/or highly ranked undergrad institution. I felt that I needed to explicitly state this.
2+ years WE
Softs: Worked two jobs during undergrad, TONS of leadership/volunteering experience, department awards, completed two thesis, and one funded research project. Some other softs are not mentioned as they are doxxy.
Wrote a DS and included it with every application. I wrote Why X’s for the following schools: Cornell, W&L, UMN, GULC, NDLS. Optional essays for GULC (Top 10) and Michigan. I ended up withdrawing from NDLS before receiving a decision. I would highly recommend writing Why X’s even if you don’t think they are “strong”. I didn’t write one for Duke, UVA, CLS, Penn because I was afraid they wouldn’t be strong, but I should have wrote them regardless. Especially for Duke.
Interviewed at WashU (adcomm), Vandy (alumni), GULC (group), Cornell (KIRA), Northwestern (KIRA).

Advice:
I think I re-wrote my PS and DS statements over 20 times lol. Create a really strong and cohesive narrative. My PS and DS were on different topics, yet overlapped in so many ways and complimented each other. Have at least 3, but no more than 5 people read your essays and give solid feedback on your work.
Have an ‘interests’ section on resume. I had a section on my resume, and on every single interview, I was asked about my interests. It made me more personable and a great convo-opener.
Try to do all the optional essays a school offers!
For Why X’s: Talk to current students, alum about the school and include some aspects in the Why X! Schools will appreciate you going beyond the website to find info on the school.
Apply early, but not crazy early. I’d rather have a solid application package if it means applying later in the cycle. I applied everywhere before/after Thanksgiving, which I thought was fine, especially for this slow cycle.
GET OFF REDDIT.